Severe water damage along wall

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Daddytron

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I recently did a major clean-up in my garage, and when I was sweeping along the east wall, I noticed that the footer had completely rotted away along a 18" span, now the studs are just floating above the floor. the sheeting (OSB) on the garage wall has rotted away along a 6' span up around 4" and I can see stucco and daylight along this section. the north wall was built 12" under grade and it is still solid, but leaks (sheeting is 1 x 2 that has been treated with tar or creosote). the west wall there is an 8" section at the opposite corner that I can see daylight through.
Is it worth trying to repair these problems?
Should I replace my Garage?
Or, should I just leave it? (Ive seen tons of old garages that look like they should have collapsed years ago that are still standing)
 
I would guess the eroded portion is in an area with poor drainage where salt drippings can accumulate and be absorbed by the concrete and wood. Subsequent freezing and thawing cycles will detroy the saturated materials.

Dick
 
I wouldn't go to the extreme of replacing the garage but, it is a least worth repairing with pressure treated lumber.
 
I would do peices at a time as to not have the garage fall down. With temp walls inside take the weight off the wall that you want to work on. Cut the studes off 10" from the floor. With studs out of the way cut the sheeting at 8" from the floor and on the outside cut the stucco at 7" from the floor. Adding a 2x4 across the studs first will keep them lined up while you work. Install a coarse of concrete block and recut the studs to allow a new treated bottom plate to the wall.
When the dirt is higher on the wall add more concrete blocks, you want to keep 6 to 8" between dirt and wood.
 
so, you suggest replacing the bottom portion of the studs with cinder-block, then putting a footer on top of the blocks?

Also, how should I prevent future water leaks?
 
Last edited:
By footer, if you mean the bottom sill plate of the wall, yes and for water proofing, dig around the outside and add drainage below floor level and apply foundation waterproofing to any concrete that will be below the dirt level.
 
Trust me on this point--everything will perform far better if you install a concrete footer below the frost line, build a concrete block wall above it, and then do your wood framing above that.

Works every time.
 
BridgeMan said:
install a concrete footer below the frost line, build a concrete block wall above it,
Click to expand...

I'm assuming you mean to excavate below the slab to install these footings?
How deep should I go? (frost line in Winnipeg is considered 8')
My garage is built 10" from the property line and my neighbor has a paved driveway up to the property line.
 
If you were to rebuild this with a new one on the same slab you would still want to bring concrete above the dirt level. If it is just a slab hopefully it is thick enough to carry the weight, but I guess it has already past that test. The driveway next door could be adding lots of water to the mix. I would dig out that 10" strip add poly below floor level install perferated pipe for dainage and fill the void with crushed gravel. You want to have your concrete blocks six or eight inches above his driveway.
 
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